Representing functions with tables and graphs
Simple.
A
function f is a rule that assigns to each element x in a set A exactly one element, called f(x), in a set B
For all numbers in set A we refer to them as the
domain -- in other words all values of x
The number f(x) is the value of f at x and is read "f of x". The range off is the set of all possible values of f(x) as z varies throughout the domain
x is considered the i
ndependent variable, as it changes, producing
y, or
f(x)
therefore y, or f(x) (because y and f(x) are used interchangebly) is the
dependent variable, depending on the equation with the variable
x in it
There are many ways to represent functions:
- Verbally (by a description in words)
- Visually (via a graph)
- Numberically (by a table of values)
- Algebraically (by an explicit formula)